2:43 PM Mon, Dec 29, 2008 | Permalink
Elise Hu
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WFAA and KVUE, (in the spirit of Texas), caught up with Will Hartnett and Dan Gattis today to let them gauge the situation in the ever-changing race for House Speaker next session. All these numbers being tossed about -- 76, 64, 11, Jan. 2nd -- have me kind of turned around. But here are some snippets from what they had to say:
Gattis (former loyalist now challenging Craddick) on the situation:
I went and talked to Tom [Craddick] the day after the [November] elections, talked to him about my concerns about the House and where we were headed, I've expressed to him what my concerns were. I really don't think those concerns were allayed or taken care of in anyway. Nor do I really think that he can. I don't think there's anything that he can do to fix the situation we find ourselves in.
Your chances?
I think my chances are great. I think I can put together a team of people that can empower members in the Texas House. I think I can put together a team of people that can lead the House in the direction that we need to go. A bipartisan House... because we are bipartisan, a 76-74 split.
What involvement will you have with the 11 Republicans planning to meet and announce a consensus candidate on Jan 2nd?
I won't probably have any dealings with them. I consider them close friends, and have worked with them in the Texas House. But that's not really the direction that I'm going. They're a different group, so I probably won't have anything to do in the meeting.
Stalking horse for Craddick?
I'm not a stalking horse. Never have been. I went and talked to Tom immediately after the election about my concerns. I don't think anybody will tell you - that really knows - that I'm a stalking horse for Tom Craddick or I'm the picked candidate by Tom Craddick cause he can't get there. It's just not true.
How many calls are you making today?
200.
Hartnett (Craddick supporter) on the situation:
[Craddick] has at least 70 solid votes and the other 12 speaker candidates, best I can tell, have one vote each.
Why not lay out the names?
Craddick is very experienced at this speaker game and he will lay out his cards when he's ready.
Says the Dems list of 64 is shaky...
I'm confident that there are several other people on that list who are prepared to vote for Craddick. I know he has great relationships with a lot of them. And so until you have that final vote never say never.
Secret or open vote for speaker?
The public has been demanding more and more transparency in its legislature and I don't see any reason that the public should not know how their legislators vote on this extremely important issue.
If I were Craddick, I wouldn't lay out my names until the last minute. All that would do is paint a big target on the backs of his supporters.
Even if he doesn't have 76, the worst case scenario for Craddick is that he has about 70, which is still about 65 more than the next best Republican.
Once we get to a point when nobody has the votes, the horse trading begins, and you've got to give Craddick the edge over everyone else.